Chapter 58: On the airship (1)
It’s field trip day.
To prepare for the northern cold, I pulled out my Night Shroud and I wore the coat over my uniform, which worked well.
My backpack was large so I packed everything I thought I might need for the next few days in the north.
The airship that awaited the cadets at the gathering place was shaped like a giant ship.
“It’s so… big.”
Yuri muttered as he watched the airship’s form.
I’d seen it in the game, but it was even more majestic in person and I wondered how it was able to soar through the air.
Magic, magic engineering and other things came to mind, but whatever it was, it just flew.
Next, the cadets began to enter the airship, guided by their instructors.
The interior of the hull was luxurious, reminiscent of a modern cruise ship.
The smell of money was everywhere and most of the cadets let out an “ooh” and “aah” of admiration.
Yuri was just as excited and looked around the interior.
Soon, the cadets arrive in the huge hall inside the airship and the instructors begin to repeat the instructions they had given before boarding the airship.
It was a simple set of instructions.
Priscilla’s face was visible among the instructors and her tiredness was evident.
Since she was accompanying us on this field trip the academy had called a cleric to take her place for a while and heal the cadets.
After the instructors’ tedious explanations, the cadets were finally free as the airship would be leaving in a little while.
“Why don’t we take a walk around the airship, especially Zetto, so he can familiarize himself with the layout?”
Aizel, who had a puzzled look on her face at Yuri’s offer to accompany her, spoke up.
“…I’m going to unpack first and get some rest. I’m tired.”
“…Is that so, Zetto?”
After Aizel said that, she disappeared into her room, and Yuri, who remained in her seat, looked at me curiously.
Her eyes were filled with regret and I think she wished that Aizel could have joined her. But Aizel was a regressor, and she wouldn’t be interested in the interior of an airship.
For her, the airship would be a familiar place, not a new one.
Lately, Aizel has been feeling like that and I couldn’t tell if she was avoiding me or people, but I hoped it wasn’t something more complicated.
“I know it’s a bother, but please.”
I didn’t have to accept Yuri’s kindness since I was just as eager to take a look inside.
In response to my smile, Yuri’s face lights up and she grabs my hand.
“This way!”
Yuri runs like a child, holding on to my hand. She is naturally curious.
I’m dragged along, but maybe I’m also a little excited.
The first place Yuri and I head to the deck.
“This is the deck. I want to watch the airship take off from here, is that okay?”
Yuri asked me, holding onto the railing with one hand.
The deck was high and railed, and there was a sign on the railing warning of danger.
The instructors explained that the deck was open when flying at low speeds, but closed when entering high-speed flight.
“Of course, that’s fine,” I said, “as long as I can remember the way.”
“…Really, then…”
Yuri’s voice had a hint of regret in it and her gaze rested on the corners of my eyes. I wonder if she’s bothered by the thought of not being able to share what she’s about to see with me.
I see quite a few other cadets on deck, as if they too want to experience the departure on deck and among them were Lucia, Crank, and Amon.
I thought to myself, “Those three have become instant friends.”
It was a very unusual combination.
Next, Lucia spots me and calls out to me.
“‘Mr. Zetto! Ms. Yuri!”
Lucia runs over to me and Yuri, followed by Amon and Crank.
“You three are together?”
Yuri questions, and Amon glances over at Lucia before speaking.
“It’s not out of the goodness of our hearts, it’s Instructor Edward’s orders.”
“Ha-ha-ha! He just singled me and Amon out… He said he didn’t want Lucia to get into trouble.”
Amon’s blunt reply was followed by Crank’s cheeky grin.
I listened to them, then glanced over to where Lucia would be.
“When does the airship leave?!”
Lucia had just cast a wind spell and was floating like a soap bubble through the air on the deck.
Next to her, Sierra was also floating.
[…Even in the mock battle…Why is this child so good at using magic for such useless things…? Surely, this child is not the heir to the Windless Family?]
Sierra looked over at Lucia, who was smiling brightly with a serious expression.
Fortunately, Lucia wasn’t the heir.
She had no desire to be the heir in the first place, and her sister naturally became the heir.
Occasionally, I would meet Lucia’s younger brother in game, but unlike his sister, he was very straightforward.
“I’m surprised to see you holding hands with a girl who normally wouldn’t.”
Amon said, looking at Yuri and me holding hands.
“Ha?”
Although his words were met with a sharp retort from Yuri, what Amon said next might not have been what she expected.
“Surely Zetto will be fine. Good for you, Yuri Clementine. Your father might be pleased to hear this.”
“It’s not like that, I’m just trying to show him around.”
Yuri retorted to Amon’s words but she didn’t let go of my hand. In fact, her grip tightened.
Amon, whose face was impassive, spoke next.
“Of course. Lucia, come down. You are hereby banned from the deck.”
“Eh…”
Lucia, who had been floating in midair, immediately descended at Amon’s command and landed on the deck. She was surprisingly well controlled.
Soon, Crank and Amon dragged her down to the deck below and as they disappeared, I turned to Yuri, who was stunned.
“You’ve known each other since we were kids, right?”
“Yeah, we’re from the same Four Elements families, but…we’re not that close…I used to beat the crap out of Amon and Lucia when they were little.”
“Haha, Amon must have been mischievous as well when he was younger, what about Orphele?”
“Well… I don’t think they really talked to each other much, since Orphele was so quiet…”
“But you two seemed to work well together.”
“Orphele’s a good match, she’s always been that way.”
Yuri said, finally letting go of my hand and leaning against the railing.
There was something romantic about the idea of four children growing up and entering the Academy at the same time… Stories about the Four Elemental Families were always interesting and unique.
Yuri, who was leaning on the railing, suddenly asked me a question.
“By the way, Zetto, speaking of mock battles… That technique that’s supposed to put a strain on your body… you don’t actually have to use it that much, do you?”
Is she talking about Chapter 2 again?
Yuri must still be bothered by the image of me spewing blood.
“I think it would be quite dangerous to pass out like that in front of an enemy…Right? I’m sure Zetto can handle himself, I was just worried, it sounds like a dangerous technique…”
Yuri said, slowly pulling herself up from the railing.
But when it comes to protecting someone you care about, you might have to go to great lengths.
Someone important, people you care about, precious characters, I had many such people but I didn’t talk about it.
“…Don’t worry too much about it. Did you pick a good weapon from the armory?”
I said, casually changing the subject since I felt like talking about it further would break the mood.
In the game, when Yuri went to the armory, the weapon she chose was fixed.
“Yeah, I’m still wearing it. Here.”
Yuri said, rolling up his sleeve and placing my hand on her wrist.
“You’re wearing it on your wrist? The material is thin enough to conceal it.”
“I was looking around at the weapons, and I was drawn to them…The staff explained that it amplifies fire magic. The donor is anonymous.”
“Hmm…You were drawn to it… That’s interesting.”
“Isn’t it?”
Yuri smiled wryly at me.
As she would eventually find out, the bracers were donated by someone from the Clementine family, Yuri’s ancestor, if you will. As such, it was a very compatible weapon with Yuri.
While we were discussing the armory, the airship began to vibrate with an unintelligible beeping sound and soon started to fly.
“Finally…!”
Yuri’s grip on the railing tightens in anticipation as the airship begins to rise into the air.
The view of the academy around them gradually diminished as the airship climbed vertically.
The cadets on the deck cheered, but the instructors with them seemed uninterested in the scenery, having been on the ride several times already. The instructors with them seemed unconcerned with the scenery, having already ridden it several times.
[…I’m going to have to stay close to my pupil.]
Sierra had come up to me by now and had her arm around me.
She was so natural that it was hardly noticeable. It was just Sierra’s breasts…It’s just that I’m a little nervous to feel them against my arm.
“…”
Yuri didn’t say anything as she looked at the scenery in her eyes but she glanced at the bandages around my eyes from time to time.
She didn’t seem to be enjoying herself and I couldn’t bear to look at her, so I spoke up.
“It’s a nice view.”
“……Phew, yeah.”
Yuri pauses for a moment at my words, and then a smile spreads across her face. She looks happy.
Afterward, I came down from the deck and Yuri took me on a tour of the various facilities inside the airship.
In between, she asked me if I remembered everything well… Yuri’s guidance was very friendly.
“Hey, what’s this room over here?”
At one point, Yuri was unfamiliar with one of the facilities, so she asked a nearby staff member to explain. She would blush if she knew what this facility was.
“Oh, this is a place called a ‘sauna,’ where the air in the room is heated using the heat from the airship, so you can come out sweating.”
The bright-faced employee explains, and Yuri opens her mouth to ask if she has any more questions.
“You sweat out…?”
“Yes, you go in with a towel and cool off, and it’s a very popular facility for cadets. They say that since they can’t exercise, they need to sweat it out, ho-ho-ho.”
“Aha… Thanks for the explanation.”
At the words of the staff member who smiled brightly, Yuri, who was a mage, replied with a shaky voice as if she didn’t understand. After all, this would be used more often by non-mage cadets.
“You two can also use it, the sauna is mixed gender, so… Hmph, hmph.”
With those words, the staff member hummed and disappeared down the hall.
“Mixed gender… Didn’t he say something about going in with a towel on…?”
Yuri whispered in a low voice, looking shocked and serious.
In the game, saunas were popular with players for a different reason.
Saunas were…to put it simply, places to watch event scenes.
Therefore, there were some players who bought cooling potions in advance and sat in the sauna to watch the event scenes of as many characters as possible.
“That… Hmm, this place… I don’t think you need to memorize it…”
Yuri, who blushed as if he had imagined the scene inside the sauna, lowered her head and said.
[Men and women sweating together in towels… Disciple, erase this place from your memory…]
Sierra’s reaction was no different.
‘Well…’ I wasn’t planning on going, but when something like this happens…
…Just as I’m thinking that, Yuri grabs my hand and we start walking down the hall.
I don’t know if I’m going to go or not….